How I cured my gastritis

Hi there, you might want try ionized clothings too for your considerations. The brand is call nefful and its does help me too along the way. Ionized actually help us rid of toxins in our body and also does healing in our affected part. Do give it a try.

Hi Mermaid. Ihave been suffering stomach problems for eighteen years now which started after being given too many antibiotics/painkillers, I developed h pylori and was treated with oregano. When I had an endoscopy, because nothing showed up, I was told I have non ulcer dyspepsia. The symptoms are very much like gastritis, but mine is lower down in my gut. I have concluded that I actually have leaky gut. If i eat something like wheat/sugar/dairy, wthin a matter of minutes, I have sinusitis as well as tummy problems. 

The best diet is as you say the same as Ines. My problems do start to get better if I follow it but unfortunately when I do start to feel better I tend to cheat again, which is why I am still ill after all these years. About ten years ago, I went to see a homeopath who did actually get the condition under control. I went for five years with very little pain. This makes me believe that you can get the condition under control if you stick to the diet for probably 5-6 months like Ines did. Hope this helps, Emma.

Thank you v much emma for your reply. That is v interesting. Yes, I feel sure that leaky gut is partly an issue for me - or has been in the past. I have worked v hard on my diet, but as you say it's hard to keep to it 24/7, though I am doing pretty well right now so hopefully mine might slowly improve over time if I stick to it.

I have a long history of IBS (which is a dustbin diagnosis really) and they think that the Non Ulcer Dyspepsia is just the same but a bit higher up. Doesn't really tell us anything does it....?

Not really. I think they just say you have non ulcer dyspepsia if nothing shows up on an endoscopy but  you have symptoms. I have tried numerous supplements over the years, nearly all of them making things worse. The only one I can take is probiotics but I dont feel they make any difference. It is all down to diet. If I stick to that, the symptoms start improving, I just need to stick to it for a good few months. 

When I went to the Drs recently and mentioned leaky gut, they dont have a clue what it is and dont even acknowledge it exists. I dont bother going any more. I do belive that if you can do the diet and stick on it, the condition will keep improving.  I went five good years with few symptoms but then had a particulary stressful period, and it all came back. 

I am being really good with my diet at the moment and very determined as I do not feel I have much of a life. I have given up work and am very restricted in my day to day life. Hopefully, I can keep doing the diet strictly for a few months. I hope you manage to stick to it. Do you feel you are improving on your condition doing the diet?

 

Hi Emma ,what foods do you find works for you ? And what foods do you avoid eating, I have suffered from gastritis / dyspepsia / heartburn all my life , and sometimes I can eat certain foods and it will not bother my stomach ,but sometimes it will, even when I have tried to eat only fruits and mostly vegetables and small amounts of lean proteins,I still get sick at times .

Yes, I have not dared to mention leaky gut to the normal GP or gastroenterologist, and I see that if you look it up on the NHS site (not sure if you are UK or not Emma?) then they are rather dismissive of it there, despite plenty of recent research which confirms it as a real issue for autoimmune illness. 

I am sorry to hear that it's impacted your life so badly Emma. It has me too, but also I have other issues like a diagnosis of ME/CFS plus hypothyroidism on top, and they restrict my life too, with very poor immune system that means I am constantly ill in the winter. Every time I venture out I am fighting off another cold and feel lousy for a week or so.

I have seen a private Dr who specialises in such things as environmental illness, so have had support from him, but even he did not really know what to do re the stomach pain issue once we had eliminated all the obvious problems that they can deal with.

Yes, the diet is making a huge difference to me though. It's the best thing for it, now I understand all the triggers, but it's taken me around 5 yrs to accept it and stick with it, as it's gradually worsened over that time too.

Hi Cathy. I have just tried to eat red meat with beef bone broth, which was recommended on the GAPS diet but this has made things worse so my new diet will just be; eggs, banana, salmon, potatoes and sweet potatoes, prawns, chicken, brown rice, loads of vegetables, soaked almonds, rice cakes and thats about it for six months. I cant eat any other fruits as they all upset my stomach, I can only eat a banana first thing in the morning. If I eat wheat/dairy or sugar it leaks straight through my stomach lining and I get instant sinusitis. I think if you have something one day and get away with it, dont do it again for a few days but better if you can stay on a strict diet all the time for a few months.

What foods are triggering your gastritis and do you take medications?

How do we stay with such limited foods and not develop food sensitivities. When I find something that works I want to stick with it.

I know, its a horrible, horrible illness and mine just goes on and on.

The foods I have listed above I dont tend to become intolerant too apart from oat cakes. I also have a green smoothie every day which I do enjoy but the rest of my diet I dont enjoy and feel I am just eating to survive. Ive not been able to eat what I want for 18 years now. How did yours start, did  you have something that triggered it?

 

I was wondering if green smoothies are safe because its raw veggies? I like green smoothies. Mine started overnight in September. I thought it was hpylori because it started a week after I came back from Cayman. But when I took an h pylori test blood, stool, breath, and biopsy it was all negative. The only other thing I can thinknof is stress. I am so upset because of hearing the stories of people not healing. I can't even take PPIs because they cause me to be too stimulated its unbearable. H2 blockers Maximum strength is too strong too. I'm on regular strength Rentindone. I don't know what else to do. I am drinking oatmeal smoothies. I don't know if the Rantindone is helping or hurting because it also is stimulating which causes me anxiety.

I have tried different ppis but gave up because of all the side effects.

I dont feel I need any medicine. I tell myself that I got better before so I can do it again. It is possible to heal it, I think its always going to be more sensitive than before but I think  you will just have to be careful what you eat once you are healed. I would never again have wine or anything too acidic. I get on with green smoothies but my stomach is always stronger between lunch and dinner so I tend to drink it then.

I put spinach, romaine lettuce, small piece of cucumber and half an avocado in mine. The reason I have not healed is because I start cheating and eating sugary things once I start getting better. I have a sweet tooth unfortunately.

Try and think positive and dont let it beat you. Have you tried just doing the diet and not taking the h2 blockers because they might be making it worse. 

I'm just hearing that you need the acid blockers to heal. Maybe I can take half of the regular dose. I am depressed thinking I can't ever eat normally or drink wine again. It's effecting my whole life. When you said you had it for 18 years I thought you meant chronically, but you got better but it just came back. I want to do whatever to restore my stomach back to its previous strength again!

I hace 3 little gastric erosions too. It looks like little cuts.

It depends if  you  have a lot of acid. I find that if I eat a bland diet, I dont get too acidy so I dont need the acid blockers to heal. You've got to try and not get too depressed about it because I think to get better, you have to have a bland diet and not be stressed. When I had the five good years, I started drinking lager which I did really begin to like. It is obviously a lot less acidic than wine and didnt affect my stomach. I also eat a relatively normal diet. 

Have you ever tried just doing the diet? Im not telling you obviously not to take the acid blockers but I just wondered if the diet helped on its own.

If the acid blockers are causing  you anxiety then this will stop you healing. 

 

Hi Emma thanks for your reply. I eat quite similar to what you listed , but I love pasta ,so I will eat lasagna and spaghetti , but even though I don't use white pasta but use ones such as rice or kamut ,the tomato sauce really make my stomach bad , also anything greasy Upsets my stomach, I drink kefir also and eat Greek yogourt,sometimes I take Zantac for my reflux as it gets really bad  and when I go to bed the acid will run up into my easophagus and irritate me, I sometimes take probiotics and also Aloe Vera gel, I really do try to avoid all the triggers ,but it's so hard .

Yes, I was suspecting the same thing. I asked the doctor if I could heal and he said you need to take something to heal. And he wants me to take at least the Maximum strenght. Ines tried the natural approach and didn't heal until he took PPIs. I wasn't healing and was having burning so I started Rantindone 13 days ago. How long before the upper stomach bloating goes away? When I have bloating every day even from eating oatmeal and bananas, soft foods, I feel like nothing is happening and that I shouldn't even be eating those things. I may stop the Rantindone or try half a dose.

This is good news, that you had 5 good years. I think I got my Gastritis from stress. Is lager BEER? I don't know because I'm in the U.S.

Yes lager is beer. Mine is more intestinal damage around my navel. I do bloat with foods that are harder to digest. Have you tried doing the same diet as Ines did?

Yes but not to the point where I buy special PH water.

The trouble is if you eat ten good foods a day but have one bad food like tomato sauce, this will wipe out all the good  you are doing as it will aggravate your stomach. I have a real problem with fatty food and oils as well. I have tried kefir and aloe vera but both of them aggravated my gut. 

Like Ines said, greek yoghurt is dairy and I find dairy makes me so acidic. She recommended a book called Dropping Acid which is designed for people with acid reflux. The author recommends a two week induction diet. I have ordered this book and am going to follow it.

I have been strictly following my diet for a week and already the symptoms I have are getting less severe. Just got to do it for another six months!

No nor me, I drink bottled water. I have just ordered the book Dropping Acid that Ines recommended. It has really good reviews on Amazon and Im going to try and follow the diet recommended.

Okay I will try it. I just know that Ines tried it but it wasn't until he took PPIs for 3 months that he actually healed.

Actually sometimes I think any foods that are not mushy are doing me harm.

I think you are right about the Aloe it do seem  to irritate my stomach , I have been told that kefir has  to be  taken in very small amounts as its killing off the bad bacteria and can make your feel very miserable, and yes Greek yoogourt is dairy , and we need to keep our bodies alkaline , it's all so hard to do , as I get cravings for certain foods and I just give in and eat them , only to suffer later on.

Is 93% lean Turkey ok? Or is that too much fat? Is Tarragon ok?

I wouldnt take the aloe then because if it irritates your stomach, it will stop it healing. Kefir made me feel really poorly. I just take probiotics.

I know what you mean about the cravings, Im a sugar addict and because I have two teenagers, it is so hard to not eat the biscuits that we buy for them. Its so hard this diet, and a lot of people dont understand it. 

I eat turkey with no problem. If tarragon is a spice/herb, it probably will irritate your stomach.

After I tried eating red meat in bone broth, my stomach became very sore because of the difficulty in digesting it. I noticed then that nearly everything I eat was making my stomach hurt. I just eat salmon and prawns with potatoes and veg for a few days and the pain has gone. Will start eating chicken again now. If you can eat easy-to-digest bland foods for a while, it is a lot easier for your stomach to digest so gives it a chance to start healing. Mine improves quite quickly but then I cheat and it gets bad again.

Okay so not herbs or salt?

Not herbs or spices. I never use salt so not sure but think Ines said not to use much. 

Okay so not herbs or salt?

You all should study water as well, most of the water bottles stated alkaline on their label doesnt mean they are pure alkaline cos i do test some of the water bottles which prove to be slight alkaline level. I installed an alkaline filter tap so that i can drink fresh alkaline water everyday. You might be careful of what you eat everyday, but do not forget the importance of water too cos they can cause slight acid in your stomach as well which ruin all of your careful eating. 

aloe vera should be drank in moderate level like a small cup and maybe thrice a day. If you drank a big cup of aloe vera, and yes it will hurt your tummy. After drinking aloe in small cup twice or thrice a day, my stools are so much healthy. Aloe boost immunity.

I did have a test at the beginning of my illness with a nutritionist which

said I had intestinal permeability which is leaky gut. I am in the UK but the Drs dont seem to be aware of it. 

Im sorry to hear you have numerous health problems as well, its so depressing isnt it. 

I think when you have been particularly bad with it, which I have recently, it makes you more determined to do the diet. I'm really trying to be as strict as I can at the moment which is helping but its hard.

No, no one understands, I was standing over my sons pepperoni pizza and got lost in the smell of it and well was enjoying smelling it and looked up to him giving me a weird look....man I wanted that pizza. I slowly sat it down in front of him and went to the oven to make my oatmeal.... I tried getting them to suffer with me and they only lasted three days. My worry is I have always been at that line of just at a healthy weight I have struggled my whole life to gain weight. And this disease took all that work away from me. I have dropped 13 pounds total so now I am underweight again. I feel so week, the Doctor said to try ensure between meal?? But doesnt that have dairy in it?

I feel your pain. I've had gastritis for over a year. Slowly lost a stone and half. Since Xmas things have got worse different stomach pains, waking early having to go to loo. Scared to eat and if I do it goes straight through. Had CT scan last week in 2weeks a colonoscopy. But someone said I could be lactose intolerant. Worth a try. Feel better. I've lost another 8lb since Xmas. Too thin! Hate looking at myself in mirror. I was having build up meals with full fat milk. If it is lactose intolerance, I was making myself worse. If I could put half a stone back on id feel better. So if you find anything that works pass it on. x

l was diagnosed with gastritus of stomach and dueodenum several week ago, l was confused about symptoms as some were typical intersticial cystitus re levels of pain heat in urethra and lower tum, but l was having near persistent nausea and loss of appetite, with a natural aversion to some foods, always disliked acidy fruits, with the nausea went off any processed foods or usual dinner meals, could tolerate small amounts of plain small snacks, crackers and spreads, small piece of bread with a bit of chicken, cheese, yogurt but not puree, oat biscuits,  egg custards, bit of choc,  my diet coming down to carbs and dairy in main, l worried due to lack of vits mins, started taking liquid supplaments, l have slowly lost weight maybe a stone, but was 2 stone oweight to start with, so that not a problem so far. lve not tried elminating for lactose or gluten yet, and like mentioned above, when it settles l feel better with less nausea and more energy and get tempted to try something normal, few fries, pizza, next day a bad one so its cut back again.  After scope scan consultant told me diagnosis prescribing ppi,s, omeprazole, l,d had acid r diagnosed years ago along with ic, but dont actually get heartburn, though do repeat up a lot when tum bad, noty sure if omprezole is a help, little difference to before using it, but consultant gave no info on foods or diet, so still trial and error. Also going for cystascope to see if ic,s flared up also. Too many itus,s, as like others lve also rhinitus and allergies. Were all different and for me the nausea is worse than the pain, debilitating and worse with exertion also. Do others have a big problem with nausea, and what would be a dozen safeish foods for gastritus to start with on eliminating diet. lve read quite a few posts, being a huge thread, and got some tips on diet supplaments, good job weve mbs.

Hi Valerie , I fully understand what you are going through , I ate pizza last weekend ,I should never had did that  and I have been suffering with a bad tummy since then and also my easophagus has become inflamed from the acid going up into my throat ,of course I'm mad at myself for eating the pizza , Ensure contains whey protein concentrate, which I think is derived from milk ,but your body does not react the same way to this as with milk, I googled Ensure and got a list of the ingredients , some people said it has no milk ,but I'm pretty sure whey is from milk , if you can drink it ,it would be good as it has nutrients , maybe you can go to a health food store and get a product for making smoothies, they have vegan ones also, and it is full of vitamins , I once struggled to keep weight on and at times I would lose so much in a short time ,now I have gained to much weight and that's making me feel miserable also , hope you feel better soon   Let me know about the ensure and if you are going to try the smoothie mix instead.

Hi Lynne , years ago when I first got diagnosed with Gastritis ,and had the scope put down ,the Gastro Specialist told me my stomach and Duodenum was very red and it was inflamed, so I was put on Omprezole , it helped a bit but like you I had nausea all the time ,it lasted over a year ,so I did a lot of research and found out that taking cod oil capsules and vit. e capsules everyday  would heal over my stomach , it worked within days I was feeling better and the nausea was gone , but when I started feeling better I stopped the vitamins and started eating things not good for me , so I would gave to go back to my special diet and avoid irritating foods and take the cod oil and the Vit. E , and for instant relief I juiced the cabbage raw with a raw potato and it would work fast to star healing .

Hi Cathy. I have been recommended to try and take a fish oil supplement

for the inflammation in my gut/sinuses. Do you think it is the fish oil or vitamin e capsules that helped you or both? I never have any luck taking supplements but havent tried them.

Oh thank you so much. I am going to try the ensure today and see what happens. I am also going to look for smoothie mix too and try that too might at as well do everything I can, I feel so weak and I have a very active three year old boy to run around after. I hear you with the pizza I did the same with a Shamrock Shake...well at lease I enjoyed it going down...

Hi Emma , when I learned about  how to heal my Gastritis it said to take the cod oil and the Vit E ,and I did take them both , I think both of those do heal inflammation ,so even if you took just the Vit E it will heal , but both together would be better, and I also have sinus problems and they helped me also for my sinuses, I sometimes forget to take them if I start feeling better. You could try just the Vit E to see how you feel , the cod oil capsules contain Vit A and D .

Thanks Cathy. Would love to give both a try but whenever I take any type of medicine, apart from probiotics, I seem to always make my gut worse.

Do you ever have problems taking medications?

hi cathy,  thanks for advice and info, will def try the cod oil and vit e, and probably give the cabbage juice a try, oddly when l was a kid long time ago 50s, our parents strongly believed in cabbage juice benafits and we  kids at that time must have drunk gallons of it, and we were also given cod oil capsules at home and school,  stopped both  on becoming an adult, will try it again, thanks

I have that problem with some supplements also , and I hate it when I have to take medications , I feel like some meds are maybe fixing a problem but might create another , for eg taking antibiotics for an infection ,will always kill off your good bacteria with the bad , and also cause an imbalance in my body,s PH , at times I have even got yeast infections from taking them , right now I'm taking Zantac for my reflux as it has flared up, but will only stay on it for short term, I also take my cod oil and  Vit E in the middle of the day with lunch as if I take it in the morning on an empty stomach it could upset my stomach as it's an oil , I have to experiment all the time to see what's best .

 

Hi Lynne , yes as a child I had to take cod liver oil ,and it was not in capsules but nasty tasting liquid ,pretty yucky, our diets back then was fruits and vegetables and no junk , sweets was a treat at special times but never on a daily basis , and pop I only had that once a year , we all today are ruining our health , but it's so hard to try and always eat healthy because everywhere we go we see all those foods that are bad for us and  we crave them , 

Hi Lynne , just read one of your other post ,where you talked about your throat problem ,of how you get a dull ache ,I get that also ,for the last week I have had that throat pain ,and it's terrible , I'm not quite sure what it is ,I spoke to a few friends who think it might be easophagitis ,which U.S. where acid irritates your throat and inflames it, but just last night my friend said to me she has had that and its gas ,like a huge bubble that gets stuck in your easophagus and can't move , so she gave me some crystallized ginger to chew on ,as ginger will break up huge gas bubbles into tiny bubbles and escape , and it actually worked , it feels like a cramp in my throat at times. 

Hi cathy, l also recall when sweets, choc, crisps, pop, biscuits, all luxury items and a rare treat, as was large size bars or box,s chocs once a year xmas. l think most had at least 2-3 veg daily with dinner, Now most junk food can be bought ridiculously cheap at discount shops, usually bigger sizes cheaper still,l struggle to pass large size toblerone for a pound, but do resist most of time, and prefer spring water to fizzy drinks, but slip on odd occassions, but tomorrow will try cabbage juice, just told woman on cfs site who has chronic nausea to try it, as is sirivinay in post above, as it happens l dont think l hated it as a kid, but didnt like cod oil, but will give it a go.  So thats 3 of us on cabbage juice, plus its good for vits mins,

Also raw vegetable keep our bodies alkaline ,and not acidic .

 

hi cathy, lve got the throat now, seemed to start after scope, but maybe didnt take note as much before. lve used chrystalised ginger for tum probs in past, l,ll try it again. But have a personal belief, docs wouldnt agree, but l think some of us have poorer immune system,s, and more prone to allergies and inflammation that allergies cause. With intersticial cystitus we produce too many mast cells, not sure if that happens with all inflammatory conditions, but lve had rhinitus,labrinthitus, athritus bursitus on and off in degree,s over years. l read about it when l,d severe  ic symptoms but no diagnosis for years, drove me mad, but l,d frequent thrush with it, so discovered were born with t cells passed from mum, and b cells we make, but some not great and more prone to allergic responses, for me rhinitus and  penicillin initially years ago, other things follow, many of my allergens  l discovered had formalin in them, commonly used in daily products and in the air, so unavoidable, some days less allergic responses than others, plus l live in a very congested valley, in an overcrowded country,  where pollution allergens are worse

Ironically my gastroenterologist came from mauritius, which the world h.o. state is second best air quality in the world, l dropped a few hints about a few months holiday, fell on stony ground. So l think a need to boost immune systems, which is what we were told cabbage juice, cod oil and vit c were given to us for as kids, now being older l guess immunity needs boosting again. With ic its also about acid reduction and avoiding acid foods. New state of mind and regime needed, and shopping list from tomorrow. .  Throat odd now, it is crampyish, will get a drink.  Will get juicer and try cabbage juice lst,  and report back on it

Hi Lynne , I have bladder problems also ever since I was a teenager , not sure if it's IC , but was told it could be, my throat was really bad after I had my supper , so Chewed on my crystallized ginger and it  worked , guess it must be gas , I can't take regular vitamin C as it wil upset my stomach , so I buy the buffered kind ,it's called ester C and it's not acidic .

 

Okay I tried one ensure today and after an hour my stomach felt heavy..then about an half hour later i was queazy. Not sure what to think...I guess I will try one again tomorrow and see if it feels the same way.

Hi Valerie ,how are you feeling ,I have read that some people do get queasy when they drink ensure, and it was only the first few days ,and then they said it didn't make them feel queasy after, it's hard to say if this is how you would be after a few days of drinking it , because it could be the whey protein that's making you feel sick, and there is other stuff in the ensure that you might be sensitive to ,you can buy vegan supplements with vegetable protein, most of those is derived from peas , I just had an e-mail a few days ago that said they are now making fermented protein powder for making smoothies, I was going to shop around to see what companies sells those, I did find one company Genuine Health ,but they make it from whey protein, so not sure if that would upset your stomach, you almost have to try a sample of drinks other than ensure that contain whey ,just to see if it's whey you are sensitive to .

okay so day two I left my protocole fo doing only one new thing a day which was stupied but i was excited to get the pepzin gi and it was my last day of my induction diet from the Dropping acid book and I was excited to try one of the meals. So when I woke I took the pepzin gi for the first time did my usual morning routine and i was feeling more of a burn then normal. I drank the ensure after lunch like always the burn did go away and I did not feel as heavy in the stomach this time but then later the burn returened and then I tried the new meal for dinner. Which I have to say I did not enjoy...lol When I woke yesterday the burn was bad and I have no Idea which caused it...So yesterday I took a break from all of the above and went back to just the food I already know I tolerate...I feel great so far today. So now I am going to start over since I did put on a pound in those two days w the ensure and of course I added and extra meal to my day too. So since I paid so much money for the ensure pack I bought I am going to give it ago again...so pepzin gi will have to wait. And the new meals. I am going to give myself one more day of rest and I will try again tomorrow with the ensure...My only thing is I noticed I bought ensure Plus which has more protien the the regular ensure so if it bothers me again I may try the regular ensure next...I heard protien can be hard on your stomach and it also has soy protien and whey protien..anything in it could be bothering me I dont think it is the dairy protien only because I can drink lactaid milk and 2% milk if I dont have Lactaid and I seem to be fine. Though I am not a huge milk drinking never have been. I just add them to my cereal or to soak my ginger snaps in for a snack. And of course with the ensure I am drinking the whole thing. So it is so confusing all I can do is try. Thanks for the suggestions I will write those down and try them too. I just hope I can find them...lol I dont know how many times I have walked into my GNC store to leave empty handed since all this started. Fred Meyer and Online ordering has been a life saver. What does fermented mean?

Hi Valerie , fermented foods are foods such as yoogourt , sauerkraut, kefir , it's a process that changes the foods ,so it has probiotics ,and enzymes , and healthy bacteria ,and also vitamins , these foods are easy to digest ,so they are easy on our stomachs . I went into the grocery store yesterday and I was in the organic section that has so much stuff including vitamins and supplements ,and different kinds of healthy foods , but didn't buy anything, because I didn't know what to get , so I know how you feel .

 

Hi Mermaid62, I have seen two GI doctors, one diagnosed me with gastritis after doing an endoscopy and the endoscopy showing an inflammation, the second doctor diagnosed me with non ulcer dyspepsia (without doing any testing). Like you I had IBS for many years (doing good now with a gluten-free diet). The second diagnosis seems to be what they say when they don't know what else to say. Anyway I am almost normal now, not taking any medication, able to eat almost all foods (feeling bad with citrus still, and yoghourts of all kinds, but fine with spices, cooked onions and garlic, a little bit of cheese, and tomatoes! Yay! I missed those so much.).

In my experience all fermented foods hurt my stomach: I tried coconut yoghourt, soy yoghourts of all kinds, almond yoghourts, I feel bad with all of them. The fermentation process acidify the food and this is not good for people with a sensitive stomach. I know all the goods things people think about good bacteria, in practice, it just does not work for me.

Hi Cathy,

I am suprised you can eat ginger, it really upsets my stomach.

I am pregnant now, so I tried it against nausea and it just gave me stomach discomfort.

I can't take vitamin C either in any form, way too acidic.

Carrot/Romaine/Celery juice helped me a lot!

 

As I said before I really do not recommend the cabbage juice. Many women, especially after 40, have a sluggis thyroid. Even though it is soothing for the stomach, the effect on the thyroid of the cabbage juice is pretty bad. It put me in a hypothyorid state and I felt really miserable (cold, tired, sluggish, I am not mentioning bad breath and gas). My blood results for thyroid after this were close to being abnormal. Thankfully everything went back to normal later on but you can get better without it.

Aloe Vera irritates me too. I did some research and it is too acidic: ph level 4 or less depending on the brand (worse if there is some ascorbic acid --Vit C-- added as conservative), I even tried the fresh one. The other problem with it is that it is astringent (like cucumber but worse), which is not good either.

Spices (ginger, cumin, chillis, ...) are irritating, but I never had problems with fresh herbs (like terragon, thyme, rosemary, basil, parsley) that are not of the onion family (no chives, you can taste it is spicy). I avoided them when I was really bad as a precaution, but as soon as I felt better and I reintroduced them in reasonable quantities and had no problems with them. They really help to stick to the diet. The only fresh herb I was always careful with, beside chives, was oregano as it is a bit strong (and oregano oil is caustic).

I really did not like beef broth, I found the smell disgusting, but I found homemade chicken broth very tasty.

Congratulations Ines and well done on getting better! X

How long would you say it took you to get better once you started the strict diet? 

It depends if you take PPI or not, with PPI and the diet, the pain disappeared in a month but I kept going longer to be sure it does not come back. Without PPI, I am not sure, I followed it for many months before, sometimes I felt better, then I ate something bad and felt worse, but I never felt completely right.

Hi Ines. Can I just ask you if you have ever tried to take either l glutamine or fish oil. I have been recommended both but not sure whether to try or not as with the fish oil, I am not good at digesting any fat.  Thanks in advance.

I made broth two or three times for the l-glutamine, but I did not take any supplement. I have not read any convincing evidence that it helps but maybe. I think sometimes less is more though, especially regarding supplements. I like to stick with what I feel has an obvious positive effect on my condition.

About fish oil, I read (on webmd) that one of the side effects is heartburn, not what I am looking for. Also you are right to want to avoid fat. Moreover I found a study showing that eating fatty fish like salmon had a positive effect on heatlh but they could not reproduce the effect with fish oil supplements. I think if you have a healthy diet, you likely don't need supplements, and according to a recent article in the New York Times, most supplements don't contain what they advertise anyway (as natural supplements are not regulated in the US like medications are).

If you are talking about fish liver oil, I am afraid that they might contain too much vitamin A, which can be toxic. I prefer to get my vitamin A from beta-carotene which is a precursor of vitamin A (so your body transform just what it needs in vitamin A) through fresh carrot juice.

Thanks for your help and advice Ines.

Okay so I switched to the original ensure and it is not bothering me. I think I have an issue with to much protien. So hopefully I will stop losing weight now..fingers crossed. I still want to try the other stuff you suggested I just want to wait a bit before I do .

So the regular ensure seems to be fine. Thursday my doctor had me try the apple cider viniger cure. Since the meds were not working this first day was bad at 2 teaspoons but now that I lowered it to one it does not seem to bother me after I drink it. i also started the pepzin and of course vitamin d3 since I found out I have a D deficincy. Now i dont get sever pains when I eat but my stomach has a low burn sensation almost the whole day except when I eat and directly after that is the only time I feel fine. I only take the viniger once in the morning I wonder if I should be takinging it more? But I am worried that the burn may be the viniger even though it is still there later on. Or if it is the vitamins or the pepzin...I read about this backing soda test you do first thing in the morning to see if you have low stomach acids? has anyone ever tried it. I am a little scared my anxiety wont handle the test the Doctor wants to do with that device in my esophagist for 24 to 48 hours.

"I did the same with a Shamrock Shake...well at lease I enjoyed it going down..."

I've been lurking and reading all the post -- which is taking me a long time to get through.  But, I had to thank you for causing me to burst out in laughter after reading your comment.  Thank you, I needed that!  

Make that four.  I'm drinking cabbage & potato juice as I write down all the good info from everyone here.  The C/P juice seems to be helping!  I've been doing the "Killing Me Softly From Inside" by Aviv, diet for over four weeks now and it's been a tremendous help.  

What is that Diet????

It's a lot like the "Dropping Acid" diet.  I've read both "Dropping Acid" and "Killing Me Softly From Inside", but can't remember why I chose to follow the diet from "Killing Me Softly" over the other.  After this phase of the diet has been completed, I'm going to try the "Dropping Acid" diet as well.  (Even though it's allowed in both diets, I can't handle broccoli.)